Real Life Mowgli

Who wouldn't have loved to have had a little slice of this little girls childhood........Tippi Degre, daughter of French wildlife photographers, spent her childhood in Africa.

Her parents have now published a book called Tippi of Africa. Wonderful.

Via Bored Panda.

Guilty

"The 2012 Greendex survey found that people in poorer countries feel, on average, much guiltier about their impacts on the natural world than people in rich countries. The places in which people feel least guilt are, in this order, Germany, the United States, Australia and Britain, while the people of India, China, Mexico and Brazil have the greatest concerns. Our guilt, the survey reported, exists in inverse proportion to the amount of damage our consumption does. This is the opposite of what a thousand editorials in the corporate press tell us: that people cannot afford to care until they become rich. The evidence suggests we cease to care only when we become rich."

From George Monbiot's latest column at The Guardian.

Red List reveals conservation successes, but extinctions continue apace

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature's latest Red List of Threatened Species shows a bleak picture.

"The red list now contains assessments of 71,500 species, including all mammals, birds and amphibians. The latest update added more than 1,000 species. Of the species understood well enough for a judgment to be made, more than a third are under threat. About half of known reptiles have been assessed and a third of fish, but only a fraction of invertebrates, plants and fungi.

Habitat destruction, hunting and the introduction of alien predators as a result of human activity are causing the greatest mass extinction of species on Earth since an asteroid strike wiped out the dinosaurs 65m years ago."

The lovely giraffe/okapi above is prized for its meat.....

Quote above from an article over at The Guardian.

75 Seriously Fun Ways to Make Your Town More Playful

Over at Community Matters is an excellent list of fun things to do to make your town my playful.....

Too many good ideas to pick one out. However....... the photo above is of Lego bombing.

Seth Godin's brilliant advice

The first lie...

is that you're going to need far more talent than you were born with.

The second lie is that the people who are leading in the new connection economy got there because they have something you don't.

The third lie is that you have to be chosen.

The fourth lie is that we're not afraid.

We're afraid.

Afraid to lead, to make a ruckus, to convene. Afraid to be vulnerable, to be called out, to be seen as a fraud.

The connection economy isn't based on steel or rails or buildings. It's built on trust and hope and passion.

The future belongs to those that care and those that believe.

link

Grateful Schools, Happy Schools

Really interesting article over at the Greater Good (University of Berkeley) on a study researching gratitude in children.

Testing a group of elementary school kids, ages 8 to 11, Jeffrey Froh, a pioneering researcher, focused on three types of appraisals that make people feel grateful:

• That someone has intentionally done something to benefit us
• That providing this benefit was costly to them
• That the benefit is valuable to us

"Overall, this study suggests that even young students can learn to look at the world through more grateful eyes—and that they may become not only more appreciative but also happier as a result."

Grow, cook, eat

Daylesford Primary School in Australia

Daylesford Primary School, to talk about the benefits of the school's kitchen garden program and he's stuck for words. There are so many, he says, he doesn't know where to start.

"In a garden there is nature, science, maths and vocabulary; in a kitchen it's the same. It crosses over into so many areas of the curriculum," Burke says.
- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpuf

"Once a week, students from Years 3-6 spend an hour in the regional Victorian school’s kitchen garden, learning how to grow things.

The next week they spend 90 minutes in the adjacent purpose-built kitchen, learning how to cook what they’ve grown. And then they all sit down to share a meal, learning a skill increasingly under threat in the modern era: how to eat. Not just for nutrition, but for the social skills integral to a shared meal, for dining etiquette, setting the table, using cutlery and more."

And, there's a book. 

learning how to grow things. The next week they spend 90 minutes in the adjacent purpose-built kitchen, learning how to cook what they've grown. And then they all sit down to share a meal, learning a skill increasingly under threat in the modern era: how to eat. Not just for nutrition, but for the social skills integral to a shared meal, for dining etiquette, setting the table, using cutlery and more. - See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpuf

learning how to grow things. The next week they spend 90 minutes in the adjacent purpose-built kitchen, learning how to cook what they've grown. And then they all sit down to share a meal, learning a skill increasingly under threat in the modern era: how to eat. Not just for nutrition, but for the social skills integral to a shared meal, for dining etiquette, setting the table, using cutlery and more. - See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpufv

Daylesford Primary School, to talk about the benefits of the school's kitchen garden program and he's stuck for words. There are so many, he says, he doesn't know where to start. - See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpuf

Daylesford Primary School, to talk about the benefits of the school's kitchen garden program and he's stuck for words. There are so many, he says, he doesn't know where to start.

"In a garden there is nature, science, maths and vocabulary; in a kitchen it's the same. It crosses over into so many areas of the curriculum," Burke says.
- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpuf

Daylesford Primary School, to talk about the benefits of the school's kitchen garden program and he's stuck for words. There are so many, he says, he doesn't know where to start.

"In a garden there is nature, science, maths and vocabulary; in a kitchen it's the same. It crosses over into so many areas of the curriculum," Burke says.
- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpuf

Daylesford Primary School, to talk about the benefits of the school's kitchen garden program and he's stuck for words. There are so many, he says, he doesn't know where to start.

"In a garden there is nature, science, maths and vocabulary; in a kitchen it's the same. It crosses over into so many areas of the curriculum," Burke says.
- See more at: http://www.theaustralian.com.au/executive-living/grow-cook-eat-and-learn/story-e6frg9zo-1226755147029#sthash.45UMhbsN.dpuf

Parks 2050: Growing food, curbing floods, cleaning air

"The globally homogenised landscape aesthetic – which sees parks from Boston to Brisbane looking worryingly similar – will diminish in importance as future urban green space will be attuned to local values and cultural perceptions of beauty.  This will lead to a far greater diversity of urban landscape designs than are apparent today.  Already, we are seeing new purposes for urban landscaping that are transforming the 20th century woodland park into bioswales – plantings designed to filter stormwater – green roofs, wildlife corridors, and urban food gardens."

From an article by Diane Pataki over at BBC Future.

Quokka

That's how I feel today. Like the Quokka, who is apparently the happiest animal in the world....according to the internet community.

It's got my vote (local elections in Denmark today, mine's going to the Quokka).

Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area, Prospect Park Alliance, Brooklyn New York, 2013

Excellent post over at playscapes on the Donald and Barbara Zucker Natural Exploration Area in New York.

Well worth checking out her critique as to why it is so successful.

I have a clearing in the forest near me that they recently converted into a natural play space...... very similar to this one. I don't know how lucky I am.

Lumholtz's tree kangaroo

The Lumholtz's tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus lumholtzi) lives in an irreplaceable nature reserve in north Queensland, Australia and has been recognised as such by an international team of scientists.

Over at The Guardian are more photos of the other reserves under threat, such as the rainforests of Madagascar and the elephant-rich hills of western India.

Forest change mapped by Google Earth

 

Fab..... BBC article about a new high-resolution global map of forest loss and gain created with the help of Google Earth charting changes from 2000 to 2012. 

It's now in front of us, we can see it. There's no argument now.

Free play is more important than organized sport

Videnskab posted an article about sports researcher Glen Nielsen's PhD project  called "Children 's Daily Physical Activity", at the University of Copenhagen.

It is in danish but is worth reading (google translate), as he followed more than 500 Danish and 500 New Zealand children and put accelerators (motion sensors) on them to monitor their levels of activity.

Here's a part roughly translated:

"The vast majority of children's physical activity going on as so-called ' self-organized physical activity ' in the schoolyard or at the youth center where the intensity is as high as in recreational and school sports .

"It was very surprising how much of children's physical activity that comes from what might be called free play, while organized sports had only a very small contribution to the total volume of activity ," says Glen Nielsen."

change.org

 

I just headed over to change.org to sign a petition to city planners: 

Design streets to support walking instead of cars. 

If you're interested, head over there and then pass on the word.

Super Typhoon Haiyan

Heartbreaking to hear about the typoon in the Phillipines. If you want to help, here's an article over at the Huffington Post with links to different charitable organisations where you can donate.

20-Year-Old Hunter S. Thompson’s Superb Advice on How to Find Your Purpose and Live a Meaningful Life

Brainpickings posted a wonderful article on Hunter S. Thompson's letter to a friend on finding your purpose.


"Decide how you want to live and then see what you can do to make a living WITHIN that way of life."

Hans Rosling: How much do you know about the world?

Hans Rosling put together an "ignorance quiz" for the BBC.

Huge Hans Rosling fan and I love a good quiz. I won't tell you how I did, but will say I was ashamed I knew so little.....

Also check out his 5 good things.

Sustainia Awards 2013

I was very happy to be part of this last night, at the Sustainia Awards in Copenhagen.

ASTEP

Just found out about this wonderful non profit organisation.

"ASTEP connects performing and visual artists with underserved youth in the U.S. and around the world to awaken their imaginations, foster critical thinking, and help them break the cycle of poverty."

They are always looking for volunteers.

The secrets of the world's happiest cities

Excellent article by Charles Montgomery over at the Guardian about what makes a city a great place to live.

A taster:

"There is a clear connection between social deficit and the shape of cities. A Swedish study found that people who endure more than a 45-minute commute were 40% more likely to divorce. People who live in monofunctional, car‑dependent neighbourhoods outside urban centres are much less trusting of other people than people who live in walkable neighbourhoods where housing is mixed with shops, services and places to work."

Michelle Obama joined by Elmo and Rosita to promote healthy eating

Sesame Workshop are waiving their licensing fee for its Muppet characters for two years, so they can encourage kids to eat their fruits and vegetables by seeing their favourite characters on all types of healthy produce in the supermarket.

What's not to love?

Article over at the Guardian.

Naomi Klein: How science is telling us all to revolt

Naomi Klein, the author of “The Shock Doctrine” and “No Logo”,  has written a thought provoking article for The New Statesman about climate change and it's power to start a revolution.

".........there is still time to avoid catastrophic warming, but not within the rules of capitalism as they are currently constructed. Which may be the best argument we have ever had for changing those rules."

Well worth reading.